Housing Call: April 25, 2023 – North Carolina Housing Coalition

NCHC Update

This is the last week to register for Bringing It Home 2023! Registration will close on April 28 at 5pm. Don’t miss your opportunity to take part in this year’s conference.

On May 2-3, we’re offering 18 live, interactive workshops designed to help you strengthen your services and advocacy for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Topics include increasing your organization’s capacity, fair housing protections, amplifying the voices of lived expertise, and evidence-based policy making on homelessness and evictions. Our speakers include both local and national experts who will share their successes and provide practical examples for how you can help end homelessness in NC. View the full agenda now and register today!

Federal Updates

Budget Bill Vote Expected Soon in the US House

In Washington, the House is expected to take a vote as soon as this Wednesday on a proposed budget that would dramatically reduce funding for housing and other non-defense domestic programs. This is very similar to a tactic Republicans used in 2010, which led to over a decade of low funding for housing programs.

The proposed bill, which was released last week, calls for:
- Drastically limiting spending on housing programs, which HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge has indicated could result in up to 1 million families becoming unstably housed;
- Limiting future spending increases to just 1% for the next 10 years;
- Rescinding unspent Covid-19 relief funds; and
- Enacting strict work requirements for families receiving housing assistance.
In exchange, Republicans would increase the federal debt ceiling and prolong the debt ceiling negotiations with Democrats until next year.
It’s currently unclear whether Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has the votes needed for the bill to pass in the House because some Republicans have voiced uncertainty about the proposed budget and Democrats are unified in opposition.
To learn more, check out Enterprise’s detailed housing budget chart.
If you’d like to know what you can do in this area, take a look at NLIHC’s Advocacy Toolkit – Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing and Homelessness –
Treasury Reallocates ERA Funds

The US Treasury reallocated $520M in Emergency Rental Assistance earlier this month. The reallocation moves money from places where funds may go unused and awards it to high-need areas. In North Carolina, the City of Greensboro will receive $85K in funds reallocated from the national pool of ERA funds.

HUD extends CDBG-CV Expenditure Deadline

Last week, HUD published an announcement in the Federal Register that suspends one of the Community Development Block Grant CARES Act (CDBG-CV) grant expenditure deadlines. Grantees were originally required to spend 80% of the grant within 3 years, but due to pandemic-related supply chain issues, labor shortages, and prolonged shutdowns, HUD is waiving this requirement. Grantees are still expected to spend 100% of the grant award within 6 years.

State Legislative Updates

Bills filed between 4/18 and 4/25

4/18
HB 789 – Eviction Record Expunction Act (Primary Sponsor: Rep. Amber Baker, Forsyth)

Automatically seals and removes from public inquiry summary ejectments that meet the following criteria:

3 years since the date of the summary ejectment was filed
Pending proceeding where no decision has been entered.
Proceeding that has been dismissed or where judgement was entered in favor of the tenant.
Proceeding that names a respondent that is under 18 yrs of age.

Makes it an unlawful discriminatory housing practice to deny an applicant on a rental application based on a proceeding for summary ejectment that has been sealed.

HB 791 – Eviction Post Judgement Relief Agreements (Primary Sponsor: Rep. Tim Longest, Wake)
- Establishes a summary ejectment post-judgement relief agreement – an agreement between a landlord and tenant to permit the tenant to remain in the rental unit under certain terms after a summary ejectment has been filed.
- Prohibits the landlord from filing a writ of possession within a certain period of time of the post-judgement relief agreement terms being fulfilled.
- Directs the administrative office of the courts to create and make available a form motion and order reflecting a summary ejectment post-judgement relief agreement.

4/24
HB 842 – Workforce Development & Housing Act (Primary Sponsor: Rep. Robert Reives II, Chatham, Randolph)
- Expands the Workforce Housing Loan Program to allow loans of up to $2M for development projects within 4 miles of an industrial site certified under the state’s Certified Site Program, regardless of the county’s income designation.

State & Local Updates

Earlier this month, the NC Housing Finance Agency announced $11M in funding awarded across 31 counties through their Essential Single-Family Rehabilitation Loan Pool. ESFRLP finances major home rehabilitation and modifications for low and moderate income homeowners who are elderly or have other special needs remain in their homes.
Brevard City Council recently approved a plan to reimburse sewer and water tap fees for eligible projects when developers agree to provide affordable housing for at least 5 years. The funds will be reimbursed by the city’s Housing Trust Fund, which the city hopes will incentivize affordable development.
An article in the Charlotte Observer provides an interesting in-depth summary of how the City of Charlotte used federal funds during the pandemic to support housing initiatives. As federal funding winds down, many Covid-era housing programs are ending and eviction and foreclosure rates are returning to pre pandemic numbers.
Another story out of Charlotte details the rise in Latinx homeownership in the region and across the US. The article cites the Urban Institute, which projects that over the next 20 years, 70% of the new net homeowners will be Latinx. Latinx homebuyers have the highest utilization rate of alternative, costlier financing like rent-to-buy and land contracts. The article also highlights the importance of housing counseling programs, which help to educate and empower future home buyers about the homebuying process.
Self-Help Credit Union, with assistance from Bank of America, is nearing completion of the rehabilitation of 40 energy efficient, affordable rentals near downtown Rocky Mount. After the rentals are complete, Self-Help will begin constructing single family homes for first-time homebuyers in the area.
The City of Wilmington and New Hanover County Workforce Housing Advisory Committee (WHAC) recently released a set of recommendations to meet the area’s growing need for affordable housing. Their five recommendations are:
- Creation of a Dedicated Affordable Housing Development Fund
- Policy shifts on zoning and resident protections
- Produce and preserve diverse housing options
- Replace one–time funding and
- Expand housing counseling and financial literacy programs

Events

[virtual] “Building Consensus to Address Housing Challenges” | U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing, 4/26, at 10 am.
- NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel will be testifying